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BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!: The Price of Free Speech March 20th, 2013

Don’t miss this thrilling documentary…

The true story about a Swedish filmmaker and a banana corporation.

Dirty tricks, lawsuits, manipulation and the price of free speech.

In 2009, Fredrik Gertten’s documentary BANANAS!, chronicling a lawsuit against controversial food giant Dole, was set to premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Dole responded with an aggressive media and public relations campaign to quash the film’s release and discredit the reputation of the filmmakers. The filmmaking team refused to be bullied, filing a counter-suit and launching their own media strategy. A true documentarian, Gertten picks up his camera again to capture his fight for free speech.

BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS is an unparalleled thriller about a David and Goliath battle with a corporate machine. This personal film reveals precisely how a multinational will stop at nothing to get its way. As Dole’s PR company puts it, “It is easier to cope with a bad conscience than a bad reputation”.

Broadcast

Press release

Poster

Read the full Storify archive for this event! We had an international reach of about 85, 000 tweeters online, with Producer Bart Simpson skyping in from Brazil, the film’s lawyer and publicist from LA and towards the end of the evening, Fredrik Gertten joined the #opencinema tweetchat from Sweden! All in addition to our dynamic live panel of speakers! Includes photos, livestream video of the post-screening discussion, tweets, links and more: http://storify.com/mandyleith/documentaries-freedom-of-speech-and-the-corporatio